Boredom
by Bereft of Relevance
Summary: Yuuji Tsukumo is an eighteen year old that's stricken with depression by his father's murdered. One day, as Yuuji sat in his classroom-having lost all faith in humanity, a golden relic fell from the sky right before his eyes...
1. Boredom

Boring

(Adj)

Not interesting; tedious.

Synonyms: Tedious, dull, monotonous, repetitive, unrelieved, unvaried, unimaginative, uneventful

Yuuji Tsukumo's life is boring. Forced to partake in the daily routine of going to school, eat lunch with "friends", laugh at jokes made by his "friends" that is not even funny, and partake in their unjustifiable swindling of other students. Rinse and repeat.

Just yesterday, he and his "friends" bullied an overweight boy to the point of tears, telling blatant lies like "We are going to take your lunch money to keep your weight in check. Be grateful towards us", much to Yuuji's discomfort. Speaking of the devil, the group of delinquents are here again, now completely surrounding his desk in the classroom. The delinquents conducted a secret handshake with Yuuji before asking him whether or not he wants to tag along to the BARian bar with them to see some nude female strippers, informing him that the expenses is already taken care of by using the obese child's money. Giving in to the peer pressure, Yuuji nodded his head slightly before pretending to return his attention back to the Calculus III homework he was working on, when in reality he was observing those punks' boring retreating figures.

"Pants worn below the waist, exposed undergarments… ugly mohawks...ugly fingerless glove...ugly tattoos… ugly nose piercings... ugly sense of fashion…." Yuuji observed, completely repulsed by the way those punks present themselves. In Yuuji's mind, if teenagers these days all dress and act like those punks, it will not be long before humanity ends themselves.

Sometimes ,Yuuji wonders why boring people are so ugly… and why is he affiliating himself with the personifications of boredom. Why? Probably because he have no where else to go…..

People find his paranoid and reserved self to not be as endearing as his father's hyperactive, never-say-die, Kattobingu self, and that is absurd in Yuuji's opinion. Then again, it seems like everything around him is black and white, dull and boring, stupid and absurd, but Yuuji is fine with it. He is going to study hard, get in a good college, and then die an uneventful death with no one besides him, just like he has planned from the beginning. Yuuji has known a long time ago that life is not as exciting as his father has told him about, it is not surprising that Yuuji found his life to be dull with friends that only stand by his side for personal gain. After all, how cool would they sound when they say: "I am friends with the Yuma Tsukumo's son", since his father is sort of a big deal. And the idea of rejecting the gang's "friendly" advances is so absurd to the point that even attempting could lead you to be classified as "insane".Too bad, Yuuji won't be able to back his dad in a corner and demand why he lied to him about how the world is full of friendly people and how humanity can co-exist with each other as long as they put out the effort, as his father has already drifted away into the world of the dead… Killed by the "friendly" people he believed in so much.

Yuuji remembered it clearly, his father was found laying in the midst of a dark alleyway in Heartland City. What his father was doing there in a dark alleyway? Yuuji is not sure. But the fruit knife deeply embedded in his father's chest presents the undeniable fact that his father was murdered. There were suspects in regards to his father's murder, but they weren't able to convict anyone due to the lack of evidence. In the world where criminals can get away from murder with impunity… everything is boring… And the boredom is killing him, just like how the death of his father is slowly killing his mother. Watching his mother slumped down in her chair while helplessly gaze at the family portrait they had together, and knowing that he can't do anything to help or comfort her is boring… And like always…. the boredom is killing him...

* * *

Yuuji always took sitting in the seat by the windows and being able to stare wistfully at the happenings outside of the confining classroom as a privilege, but he didn't expect be able to witness something that seems to be made of gold plummeted to the yard of the school. Aiming his gaze downwards, Yuuji mentally marked where that item has dropped while making a mental note to check out the identity of the artifact that fell in front of his eyes.

"So I have heard, you went to the strip club with Keith and his goons." The voice broke Yuuji out of his chain of thought, as Yuuji shift his eyes around the room in hopes to find the speaker before finally stopping at a blue-haired teen standing by the left side of him.

"You might want to be careful about what you say Riyo Takeda. You don't want to get your beautiful face disfigured by Keith… Do you?" Yuuji replied, yawning right afterwards.

"A smooth talker like always, Yuuji." Yuuji honestly can't tell whether or not Riyo was being sarcastic or not, but he chose to move on.

"Oh, and for your information, we did not went to a strip club, we just went to a bar that happens to have nude women in it." Yuuji explained.

"Yeah, yeah. That did not change the fact that you went to see naked women." Riyo rolled her eyes, and proceed to walk away from Yuuji's desk at the sound of lunch bell.

"You want to eat lunch with me and my friends today?" Riyo offered, turning around for one last time.

"No thanks. Keith and I already have other plans." Yuuji politely declined as Riyo nodded in understanding and left the classroom.

Riyo Takeda, the offspring of Kamishiro Rio and Takeda Tetsuo- she is a generally "friendly" girl and bore a strong semblance with her mother. Normal people would question Yuuji's judgement of refusing Riyo's companionship and instead sticking with the group of people that he hates to be around, but Yuuji knows he is made the correct decision. You see, Yuuji held a strong believe that the culprit that murdered his father is one of his father's closest friends, thus Yuuji believe he have a str

ong reason to doubt every single one of his father's friend's offspring.

Sighing, Yuuji also make his exit out of the classroom and headed for the cafeteria, knowing that he need to brace himself to witness the inevitable hazing of the overweight boy once again.

* * *

Surreptitiously making his way to the part of the school that the mysterious artifact has fallen into, Yuuji scrabble around the lawns and bushes looking for the said artifact. After all he is sure that no one else picked it up, as he has monitored every movement outside the confining classroom through the transparent window that's next to his seat. Stopping when his fingers made contact with metallic coldness, Yuuji wrapped his finger around the object that his finger made contact with and pulled it out of the bush the object was hidden in.

Examining the object in his hands, Yuuji noticed the golden object bore semblance to a upside down triangle, with two rectangular curves on both of its sides. Suddenly the artifact released a bright flash of light as a startled Yuuji released his grip on the mysterious relic and allowed the relic to drop down to the ground, freeing up both of his arms to shelter his eyes from the blinding light.

Sensing the light has faded, Yuuji warily lowered his arms. To Yuuji's surprise, he was no longer at the yard in front of the school. Instead, he seems to be in a dimension that is as white as snow, with only a demonic looking door to add variety in the room. Before Yuuji can even interact with the new environments, everything in the room seemed to disperse along with another brilliant flash of light, causing the young adult to once again use his arms to protect his visual organ. The light once again dimmed out, and Yuuji found himself to be back on campus grounds when he unsheltered his eyes. Shocked and unable to understand what has transpired, Yuuji's eyes traveled to the golden artifact lying on the school lawn whilst contemplating if he just had an overly realistic daydream.

Although initially reluctant to do so, Yuuji took the key along with him as he proceed to partake in the inevitable reunion with Keith's group. After all, they still have to squeeze a couple bucks out of some weak-willed kids in order to finance the group's activity.

"Huh? What did you say?" Members of the gang backed the same overweight kid in a corner of the school hallway, each member cupped one of their and feigned inability to hear what the boy was trying to say, when in reality they are challenging the boy to go against their demands again.

"P-please. P-please, just for this one time… Don't take my lunch money, my family is poor and my mother can't afford the stress of constantly having to give me additional lunch money when I told her I 'lost' them… P-please… I will do anything." the obesed boy begged, tries to hold back tear and restrain his sniffles, albeit he is doing a horrible job of both in Yuuji's opinion.

"My family is poor, you say?" one thug repeated in a mocking tone.

"P-please don't take my lunch money, you say?" another thug joined in, sporting an equally as mocking tone.

"If you can't give us lunch money, at least give us something of you that we can sell off. Unless, you are getting tired of being able to breath…." Keith concluded, threatening to end the obese child's life if he does not forfeit a thing of value. The kid's eyes widen for a moment, before his eyes involuntarily traveled down to the pouch that he had attach to his left leg, unluckily for him Keith traced the movement of the kid's eyes and pinpointed the object the kid was eyeing.

"Hmmm… what do we got here?" Keith asked in an amused tone and extend his hands toward the pouch located on the boy's left leg as his thugs restrained the overweight boy by slamming the boy's body against the wall.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh…. We have got something interesting over here." Keith exclaimed, as he held up the objects hidden away in the boy's pouch. Yuuji immediately identified what those things are, they are cards… Duel Monster cards to be exact.

"These are some rare cards! Ooh… you have a copy of Mecha Phantom Beast Draccosack. Ahhh… the good old Soul Taker spell card…. those things costs a fortune. Say… it is not like you can put these cards into good use anyways… so why don't you give these cards to us and we will give you .01 % of the profit we made from selling it? You do want to live to see the sunset and sunrise again… Do you?" Keith is now leaning closer and closer to the threatened boy, as the boy pressed its body harder and harder against the wall.

"No… please…" the boy's pleads were cut off short as a barrage of punches and kicks rained on his body, leaving the boy unconscious in a puddle of his own drool when the assault ended. Sending the unconscious boy one final look, Yuuji whirled his body around and trailed after Keith and his posse.

"_Hmph… How boring…"_

* * *

Attempting to read a classic literature underneath the poor lightning of BARian bar has never been easy, but attempting to read under poor lightning while trying your hardest to block out what your "friends" are saying is a disaster.

"Can we have two Bloody Marys, please." Keith ordered, relaxing on the couch with a woman in his arms ...the type of woman that trade sexual favors for material bartender nodded in obedience, and delivered to glass of Bloody Marys over to the table the gang are situated in.

"Don't worry honey, we can drink as much as we want today. It is my treat!" Keith leaned over towards the woman in his arm, before sending a wink in the woman's direction much to the woman's delight. Yuuji rolled his eyes at that, as he mentally jested that the only reason Keith has been so generous today was because the money he is spending was robbed from someone else. However much to Yuuji's dismay, Keith seems to notice Yuuji's eye-rolling, as the gang leader kicked the cup of wine out of Yuuji's hand with a mighty swing of his right foot.

"You got a problem with me? Huh? Yuuji?" Keit extended a hand over and proceed to lift Yuuji off of his feet by the collar. Yuuji's nose wrinkled at the reeking smell of alcohol that assaulted him when Keith opened his mouth, and proceed to swing both of his legs around at a hectic pace in an attempt to break out of Keith's hold.

Tired of Yuuji's struggling, Keith forcefully flunged Yuuji towards a sofa, causing the sofa to flip on top of Yuuji when contact was made. Not done with Yuuji yet, Keith stomped over to the sofa, before demonstrating his physical strength by lifting the sofa up and tossed it overhead to a different direction, completely exposing Yuuji's physical body. Producing a fruit knife from the pocket of his jeans, Keith grabbed and pulled up Yuuji's head by the hair and pressed the sharp edges of the knife against Yuuji's throat. The BARian bar fell dead silent, as the spectators that were initially excited over the idea of having a fight breaking out all froze in their seats at the sight of the metallic object.

"Listen Yuuji, you don't roll your eyes at me. You don't roll your eyes at me! In fact killing you would be too easy.. why don't I gorge your eyes out first? I am stronger than you, I am better looking than you, I am smarter than you. You can name any challenge and I will outdo you in every single one of them! Because you are trash when compared to me! You hear me, you son of ….." Keith's rambling was cut short when Yuuji finally spoke up.

"...There is one thing that you are not better than me at doing?"

Yuuji's remark was met with swift punishment… a punishment that took the form of a lightning-quick punch to the face.

"And what is that?" Keith challenged, pulling Yuuji up from the ground by the hair again.

'... A duel."

"A duel? Who do you think I am? You honestly believe that a man of my caliber will invest my time in a card game? Who do you think I am! Huh? Yuuji, I am certainly not a nerd. If I did not take you under my wing, you will still be eating your bento alone on the toilet seat of the school bathroom! You owe everything to me! You can't challenge me to a game that I don't even know about, it is not fair! Not fair, you hear? Pick another one! You ungrateful son of a…"

"Chickening out, are we?" Yuuji spat, wiping the blood off of his cracked lip and massaging his bruised cheeks at the same time.

"Chickening out? Like I said, I don't even know anything about Duel Monsters…"

"But you were able to immediately identify the value of Mecha Phantom Beast Draccosack, something that even a long time player like me was not able to identify. And you referred to the card _Soul Taker_ as the good ol' _Soul Taker, _signifying at least some degree of familiarity with the card. Yet, you claimed you have never played Duel Monsters before, how do you explain that?" Yuuji interrogated, not willing to let Keith weasel out of this one. However the triumphant and confident look on Yuuji's face was immediately replaced with shock when a round of maniacal laughter resonated around the BARian bar.

"Haha… It seems like no matter what excuse I will find next, you will always look for a contradiction until you have finally manage to coerce me into a duel. Well, I will make you regret the day you challenge me, Yuuji, for my skills are on par with those participating on National Dueling Circuit. In fact let's up the ante a little bit, if you win then I will forget about the entire eye-rolling thing. But if I win, then you will promise to end your life."

"I agree… under one condition. … If I win, then I get the boy that you bullied during lunch's deck back. In exchange…" Yuuji suddenly leaned towards Keith's ear and whispered. "_I will let you kill me._"

Keith's grin grew wider and wider by each second, as both of them equipped their duel disk and duel gazer.

_Indeed… it is insane to go against Keith's group, but this insanity is brought upon the neverending boredom that haunted Yuuji's life… _

_And it is time for him to un-bore himself..._


	2. Trash

Whispers can be heard in the dim room of BARian bar as spectators discreetly placed bets on who they think we be the victor of the upcoming duel.

"I heard he is Yuma Tsukumo's son, this means dueling basically run in his blood. There is no way he can loose, I put 100 dollars on Yuma Tsukumo's son."

"You must be stupid. Have you not ever heard of Keith Shades? He was a major name in the national dueling circuit! Anyone with an I.Q higher than a hamster would pick Keith, whatever dueling blood Yuma Tsukumo's son have running in his veins will be nothing in front of Keith's pure experience. After all no matter how talented you are, with no experience you are nothing."

Yuuji rolled his eyes at the incessant chatter in the background, mentally remarking how stupid those people are for getting worked up over such trivial concerns. What others think of him and his experience have no bearing in the current situation, all he have to worry about is winning against Keith Shades. Yuuji did not walk into this one completely unprepared and he knows that Keith will be a tough nut to crack. But what choice did he have? Getting in a meaningless physical confrontation will be digging his own grave due to his lack of muscles. At least in a duel, he does stand a chance to be victorious, since his father did spend hours teaching him about how dueling is a thing that one can use to tap into their hidden potentials.

"Are you going to just stand there all and stare at me all day, or are you going to duel? Don't tell me you chickened out already?"

Not in the mood to participate in a childish, stereotypical banter that rivals usually have, Yuuji just slid his deck into the deck holster of the duel disk and casually secured his duel disk around his forearm before both duelist pressed a button on the D-Gazer lens that's currently perched on their ears and allowed the devices to generate a virtual copy of their surroundings.

"Duel!" Both duelist declared in varying volumes.

-Turn 1-

Keith: 8000 Yuuji: 8000

"...I will go first." Yuuji announced, conducting the first draw phrase of the duel, changing the amount of cards in his hand from five to six. Lowering his gaze so that he can see the cards in his hands, Yuuji considered his options…

_In my hands I have Gogogo Gigas, which is a highly defensive monster that boasts an original defense of 2200. There is no way that such a defensive monster would be destroyed so easily. Defense is not the coward's way out, but a genius' way to survive. I will set Gogogo Gigas in face-down defense mode for now and see what Keith can do. After all, this is the best move one can make right now. _Yuuji analyzed, before placing a card in face-down horizontal position on his duel disk.

"I end my turn."

-Turn 2-

_Playing defensive, huh? You are too naive Yuuji-kun, did you think I never encountered cowards like you during my days in the national dueling circuit? You think I do not have a strategy made just to exterminate cowards like you? Well, if so, then you are more stupid than I thought!_ _I overestimated you Yuuji-kun, looks like winning this duel will be easier than I thought it would be. _Keith dismissed any potential threat that Yuuji can impose and drew his sixth card as well. _And I will show you how I will reduce you to nothing and force you to crawl and beg like a beggar... right now!_

"I activate the spell card: Mind Control. With this card I can target one monster you control, and take control of it until my end phase, regardless of its current positioning," Keith allowed a moment for Yuuji to process the information before continuing, "And I will of course take control of the face-down monster card you have as your only line of defense." The shocked expression on Yuuji's usually stoic face told the entire story of Yuuji's dismay. All of a sudden, a holographic image of a green bordered card surfaced on the field with an artwork near the center that depicts of a puppet hanging by the strings thats attached to giant hands hovering above the puppet. Then immediately after that Yuuji's face-down monster card vanished from his side of the field and appeared on Keith's side of the field.

"Let's see what this monster is, shall we?" Keith flipped the face-down monster up, revealing Gogogo Gigas (LV 4 ATK: 0 DEF: 2200). Gogogo Gigas is a monster that looks like it was made entirely of lego. The monster's body is one enormous yellow cube that's decorated with smaller rectangular spirals on each of it's corners. The limbs are all made of multiple rectangles connected to each other by a connecting bush, the shoulder of the monster comprised of an elongated rectangular structure that made the monster look much intimidating and the red eyes flashing in the monster's rectangular face did not help making the monster look any less intimidating.

_Perfect!_ Keith rejoiced. "I summon Junk Synchron (LV 3 ATK: 1300 DEF: 500) in defense mode." A short robot made from orange metals appeared on the field, the muffler it was wearing flowing all the way down to its heels.

_Its coming! Two monsters is on Keith's side of the field. Now he is going to play a spell card that will equate the two monster's level and XYZ summon. I should have known…_ Yuuji grimaced, and felt like kicking himself for letting the situation escalate to this point.

"I tune Level 3 Junk Synchron and Level 4 Gogogo Gigas to synchro summon Junk Archer (LV 7 ATK: 2300 DEF: 2000)"

_...Wait, Synchro Summon!?_ Yuuji cannot believe what he is seeing right now, as Junk Synchron turned into a makeshift passageway of three green circles and Gogogo Gigas ran through the said passageway. A streak of light penetrated all three of the emerald circles as a blinding light exploded through the BARian bar, and a creature Yuuji have never seen before emerged from the light. The monster is a robotic monster with color's of orange, white and black spread sporadically around its body. The monster have an orange hat-like protrusion on its head, a orange vest on it's upper body/torso area and the hip area, and lastly an orange attachment on the kneecap. The monster also possesses white arms, white legs, and a black exposed lower body that's not protected by armor. Not to mention the green bow and arrow that it holds in its hand doesn't seem to be designed to injure but to kill.

"Junk Archer, attack Yuuji directly!" The armor-clad archer nodded to signify the successful reception of his master's command before drawing his arrow back, the string of the bow stretched before flicking forward, propelling the arrow directly towards the defenseless Yuuji.

"Argh!" Yuuji let out a cry of agony as the illusionary arrow penetrated his heart. Clutching the part of the body the heart is hidden under, Yuuji sank down to his knees and trembles uncontrollably as he tries to shrug off the mind-numbing sensation that crept up on him when the holographic arrow made contact with him. Yuuji always knew that dueling with A.R vision takes a lot of effort and needs superior tolerance to pain, but never in his mind did he even consider that it would hurt **this **much. The way his life points just plummeted from 8000 to 5700 certainly did not provide any encouragement that will allow Yuuji to have a speedy recovery.

"This is the power of Synchro summoning. Something that can only be achieved when you have became completely in synch with your deck, something that a weakling like you can never achieve!" Keith boasted, metaphorically twisting the knife in Yuuji's wound.

"Damn right! Tell him what you are all about!" One of Keith's gang member cheered in the background while rest of the gang sat back and nodded in agreement.

"I set a card face-down and end my turn." A face-down holographic image of a Duel Monster's card appeared behind Junk Archer.

"Tsk. I can't believe that guy is Yuma Tsukumo's son. He just lost 2300 life points on the 2nd turn. Looks like I made the right choice in betting on Keith Shades."

"Augh. Darn it! I knew I should have voted for Keith Shades. Hey you, Yuma Tsukumo's son, you better win this duel or else I will beat you to a pulp!"

"I told you **talent **is nothing in front of **experience**!"

_Tsk. Shifting sides just because I lost measly 2300 life points. How predictable. Just like I thought this world is full of boring people doing boring and predictable things. It is people like that that doesn't have a fundamental understanding over words like "loyalty" that stunted the growth of human civilization for the past centuries. _Yuuji bitterly noted as he sent an evil look to the spectators that was shouting death threats at him, and just like that the crowd is silenced.

-Turn 3-

Keith: 8000 Yuuji: 5700

_I wanted to scout my opponent's deck, and due to my naivety 2300 points of my life point is gone. Better take the offensive right now… if I don't want to get killed by Keith._Yuuji concluded as he drew another card from his deck.

"I summon Achacha Archer (LV 3 ATK: 1200 DEF:600) in attack mode." A masked man appeared on the field donning a gray armor, with both accesories being marked by a flame-like pattern. The archer pulled an arrow from the crescent-shaped quiver strapped to his hip and aimed the arrow straight at Keith's head before releasing the string and propel the arrow through the air. The arrow ripped through the air, creating enough friction to cause a small amount of flames to engulf the tip of the arrow before breezing past Junk Archer and implant itself in Keith's forehead.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The older man toppled over and rolled on the ground in agony as he felt as if the holographic flames of the arrow was roasting his brain. Seeing that his actions did absolutely nothing to alleviate his suffering, Keith flailed his limbs around wildly for one last time before becoming completely motionless to the point that Yuuji questioned whether or not the man is still alive. It was only at this time did the arrow launched by Achacha Archer burst into small particles of light and Yuuji's suspicion of Keith being dead seemingly vanished alongside the holographic arrow, as Keith has managed to pull himself back to his own feet, much to Yuuji's disappointment.

A creature equipped with a red robe launched himself through the air, and used Junk Archer's head as a springboard to close the distance between himself and a startled Keith. Without warning, the swift assailant held both of his swords parallel to one another and allowed the unforgiving metal to rain down on Keith's nape as the duelist's fell flat on his face before letting out yet another cry of agony. Eyes shut tight, brows furrowed, teeth clenched, and his left hand covering the area of his neck that was just mercilessly clipped by the blade of the holographic image, Keith began to regret ever accepting this duel as the pain that he had to endure is stripping his dignity away bit by bit. Forcing one of his eyes open, Keith caught a retreating figure of his assailant. The attacker's face is covered in white facepaint with red circular patterns arranged to give him a look of mystique. Judging by the fact that the person wields two might katana in his hands, it is safe to assume that the person is a samurai, and the armor concealed under his red robe confirms it. Not to mention the ridiculous haircut the person sports, it looks like the person have wings on his head, one for each side. But being in immense pain, Keith was in no position to make some of the disparaging remarks he have in mind, instead choosing to glare at Yuuji and mentally urge Yuuji to explain how he managed to get two monsters on his side of the field and how both of the monster bypassed his Junk Archer. Yuuji seems to have noticed Keith's confusion as he got to the explanation right away.

"Achacha Archer's special ability is that he can inflict 500 points of effect damage to my opponent when he is normal flip summoned. From there, I decide to link Achacha Chanbara's ability with Achacha Archer's. Achacha Archer's ability is that during either player's turn, when a card effect is activated that will inflict damage when it resolves, I can special summon this card from my hand and inflict 400 damage to my opponent. This is evident in how your life point dropped from 8000 to 7100."

Keith let out a growl as his brain finished processing the information that Yuuji gave out, seeing that his life point indeed was reduced from 8000 to 7100.

"Tsk. Cheap tricks! But it doesn't matter, on the following turn my Junk Synchron will obliterate both of your monsters, for Junk Synchron's special ability is…"

"There will be no next turn for your Junk Synchron." Yuuji interrupted.

…_!_ Keith's eyes widened at Yuuji's bold statement, but immediately caught on to what Yuuji is getting at. _He have fulfilled the requirement to XYZ summon!_

"I overlay the Level 3 Achacha Chanbara and Achacha Archer. With these two monsters, I build an overlay network! XYZ Summon! Come, Melomelody the Brass Djinn (Rank 3 ATK: 1400 DEF: 1600)" Achacha Chanbara and Achacha Archer transformed into two separate light entities, each sporting a different shade of brown. The two light entities ascend to the skies, entwining with one another along the way before plunging into the a milky way galaxy-like portal that opened on the ground. A massive explosion of multi-colored eighth notes sprouted from the center of the portal, as a green haired teenage emerged from the portal and the portal vanished into nothingness. The green haired teenager have two fiend-like horn sprouting from both sides of her head and is currently donning a pink and white shirtdress. All of this is completed with two rings of light whose rim intersected in front of the monster's chest, giving it a X-like appearance while at the same time orbiting two orbs of separate shades of brown. Keith made disapproving noise as he observed how carefree the monster is behaving, sitting on top of the tuba-like instrument and dangling her feet like a little child.

_How could such a powerful monster act so carefree, she is a disgrace to her peers! Wait… powerful? _Keith snap himself out of his thoughts and fixated his gaze on the holographic window that display individual monster's stats, and suddenly Keith found himself fighting the urge to burst out laughing. And he understandably lost that fight…

"Hahaha. A measly 1400 attack points. I expected you to do better than that, looks like I have overestimated your overall intelligence. You do realize that there is 900 points of attack point damage in my favor,right? Don't tell me that you can't even do basic algorithms." Keith's open mockery was soon cut short as Yuuji held out a spell card that Keith doesn't really want to see at the moment, Keith's dismay is evident in how the smirk on his face was now turned upside down and replaced by a frown.

"I activate the spell card: Blustering Winds. Until my next standby phase, a monster I control gains 1000 extra attack points. And the monster I am targeting is of course my Melomelody." A holographic representation of the spell card Yuuji is holding appeared on the field as the young adult insert the said spell card into the spell/trap card zone of his duel disk. After a moment's delay. a gust of wind blew from the artwork of the spell card and spiral around BARian bar, locking over the spectator's alcohol and lifting up the ladies' skirts before making its way into the horn of Melomelody's instrument. Shrieks and profanities can be heard in the background, but Yuuji chose to pay them no attention, after all he does have business to take care of.

_Shit. Did this kid somehow see through my plan. Did he somehow manage to figure out the identity of my face-down card? No that wouldn't be possible, he surely does not possess any esper powers. There is no way that these kid could have known that my face-down card is Bottomless Trap Hole, and purposely played monsters that have less than 1400 points of attack points just to avoid suffering the effect of Bottomless Trap Hole. Unless… he cheated and have a spy in the audience that's feeding him information of cards in my hands. Nah… this kid is way to antisocial to being able to obtain any friends, the possibility of this kid having friends in the audience shouldn't even be considered. He probably just got lucky… this is definitely it. He just GOT lucky. _Keith snapped himself out of his trance just in the nick of time to hear a sound that is worse than death itself.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEK. Keith-Koi, teach that unruly bastard the consequence of flipping up a lady's skirt." The high-pitched voice of Keith's girlfriend reverberated throughout the bar room nearly turning Yuuji deaf in the process.

"Of course hon. Then we will get back and have some 'sexy' time." Keith replied in a seductive tone as everyone in this room's cheek turned bright red, and Keith's girlfriend was of no exception.

"Melomelody attack Junk Archer!" The green haired teenager nodded in obedience before taking in a large amount of air and released it into her brass instrument through the mouth piece. Melomelody's attack -augmented by the power of Blustering Winds-spiraled through the bar room, shattering the light that hung from the ceiling and engulfing the bar room in complete darkness with the only source of illumination originating from the holograms projected from the duel disks, all the while Junk Archer literally shattered into a million light particles.

"Ugh!" Keith grunted, sheltering his eyes with his left arm as his life point decreased from 7100 to 7000.

"I set two cards face-down and end my turn." Two holographic images of face-down duel monster cards appeared on the field, one after another.

-Turn 4-

Keith: 7000 Yuuji: 5700

Yuuji watched Keith's actions with a critical eye, hoping to find any signs of insecurity and weakness that he can feed off on, but surprisingly Yuuji's efforts have no payoff as Keith seems to be just as calm as ever.

Keith removed the top card of his deck and add it to his hand, and a gradually increasing grin formed on his face.

_Impossible. How can he still be smiling like that, my Melomelody's attack point will remain as 2400 until my next standby phase. He shouldn't be able to top 2400 points of attack point that easily. Not to mention he currently doesn't even have a monster on his field, meaning he can't XYZ summon or conduct the thing that he calls Synchro Summon. So, why is he still grinning like that?! _Yuuji racked his brains for any possible explanation for his opponent's seemingly baseless self-confidence, but his efforts are ultimately in vain.

"I activate the spell card Scapegoat!" A card with green border appeared in face up vertical position, with its artwork depicting 4 sheeps of varying color. Four puffs of smoke exploded from the thin air, and four levitating sheeps emerged from the smoke.

_Scapegoat? What for? Is it to stall for time. If so, wouldn't it make more sense if he uses it when I declare an attack rather than right now. Well, I guess it wouldn't make much of a difference. But maybe he have some other things in mind. Is he going to XYZ summon? A XYZ summon using 4 Level 1 monsters? Or maybe he is going to try the Synchro Summon shenanigans again? _Yuuji rapidly shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. _What are you doing Yuuji. Do not overthink this, he could very well be using the Scapegoats to stall for time just like any other people do. After all, isn't that the traditional method to use the spell card "Scapegoat"? I'm sure that is it, it have to be it. That's right Yuuji, don't think too much into this things, you have two face-down cards in your spell/trap card zone that you can activate if anything goes wrong._

"I summon yet another Junk Synchron (LV 3 ATK: 1300 DEF 500) to the field." The same orange human-like robot appeared on the field once again through a portal that opened in the A.R replica of the BARian bar.

"Now I tune Junk Synchron (LV 3) with one of the Sheep Tokens (LV 1) to synchro summon Armory Arm (LV 4 ATK: 1800 DEF: 1200)." Junk Synchron turned into three circular bands and surrounds one of the Sheep Token before constricting into the Sheep Token and draw forth a burst of brilliant light. When the light fades a robotic forearm with 5 red unusually thin fingers appeared on the field, along with a black and gold forearm protector that protrude from the back of its hand.

"Tsk. God damnit, another one?! How many of those stupid Synchro monster things do you have?!" These words left Yuuji's lips before he can stop them, and the young adult immediately wants to kick himself for showing signs of weakness and frustration.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh….. Looks like Yuma Tsukumo's child is starting to lose his cool. I told you Keith Shades will kick his ass." One spectator yelled..

"Oh, please tell me it ain't so. I don't even have that much money to throw away. My family is poor! Yuma Tsukumo's son you better win this or I will harvest your organ and sell it to the black market!" Another one followed.

The members of Keith's gang just stood them with their arm crossed looking like they believe they are all a big part of Keith's triumph, when in reality they did absolutely nothing.

_Yuma Tsukumo's son this, Yuma Tsukumo's son that. What the fuck is wrong with those people._ Although Yuuji is not outwardly displaying it right now, he is absolutely infuriated over the constant mentioning of his father's name. But what can he expect, after all he does live in a world inhabited by beings that lacks individuality. Everyone have ulterior motives and everyone sucks up to people with authority, it is the same thing every single day. However the sound of Keith's voice snap Yuuji out of his rage-infested thought..

"I activate the spell card Monster Reborn. To special summon Junk Synchron from the graveyard." A circular portal opened up next to Armory Arm and outcomes the orange robot that Yuuji is quite sick of seeing.

"Now I tune Junk Synchron (LV 3) and the 3 remaining Sheep Tokens (LV 1) and Synchro summon Goyo Guardian (LV 6 ATK:2800 DEF: 2000).." Once again Junk Synchron's body turned into 3 green loops and encircled all 3 of the remaining Sheep Tokens. Yet another brilliant flash of light exploded through the area, forcing both duelists and all the other spectator's to shelter their eyes to prevent permanent eye damage. Once the light fade away, a man whose body is painted completely in white appeared on the field. The man dons a robe that consisted of multiple colors, ranging from pink, dark red, black and white. The newly emerged monster is also wearing a white face paint that consisted of red markings, similar to Yuuji's Achacha Chanbara. Although the multiple bows arranged on his body might have made him look less intimidating, the weapon that the man hold in his hand is nothing to make fun of. It is a weapon that Yuuji can not identified, the mysterious weapon consist of a lasso with a pitch fork-like weapon attached at one end of the rope, but Yuuji is sure that its dangerous.

"I now equip Armory Arm to Goyo Guardian." Surely, the robotic arm propelled itself towards Goyo Guardian and replaced the fork's place on the lasso.

"And thanks to Armory Arm's effect, the monster who was equipped with Armory Arm gains an additional 1000 attack points."

_Wait. Why did he attach Armory Arm to Goyo Guardian. Goyo Guardian's attack point is 2800, which is more than enough to defeat Melomelody, meaning he can directly attack me with Armory Arm. So in total he can inflict a potential 2200 points of damage. But if he equips Goyo Guardian with Armory Arm, he can only inflict a maximum of 1400 points of damage and that is after the attack stat boost provided by Armory Arm. So why did he… _Yuuji contemplated Keith's motives, but is once again drawing a blank… until Keith decides to reveal one crucial detail about Armory Arm's effect.

"When the monster equipped with Armory Arm destroys a monster by battle and send it to the graveyard, I can inflict damage equal to the attack of the destroyed monster in the graveyard."

_...A full 3800 points of damage_._That means I will only have 1900 life points left after this attack connects! _Yuuji's eyes widened in horror at that thought.

"Now Goyo Guardian (ATK: 3800, attack Yuuji's Melomelody the Brass Djinn (ATK: 2400)!" Goyo Guardian nodded in obedience and began to spin his lasso around in the air.

"Yuuji, the following turn will be your last. For on the 6th turn, I will deplete the rest of your life point."

Yuuji raised an eyebrow at Keith's bold statement. From this duel, Yuuji learned that Keith is not the "all bark and no bite" type of person, and will most likely not make any bold statements without an idea in mind. But still, Yuuji is interesting in knowing how his fate will be sealed on the 6th turn.

"What are you basing your statements on?"

"You see, Yuuji-kun, Goyo Guardian also have a special ability. For when this card destroys a monster by battle and send it to the graveyard, I can special summon that monster to my side of the field in face-up defense position. Meaning that if I destroy your Melomelody, I can special summon it to my side of the field in defense position. When that time comes, you can attempt to set a monster in defense position, but I can always unequip my Armory Arm from my Goyo Guardian and use your own Melomelody to expose you for a direct assault. Of course you can always go and summon a monster to destroy Melomelody whilst it is still in defense mode, but then my Goyo Guardian can always destroy whatever attack position monster you decide to summon and force you to take another 3800 points of damage by using the effect of Armory Arm. Let me remind you don't have enough life points to take either a 3800 points of damage or 4600 points of damage once my Goyo Guardian's current attack connects."

"As expected from my Keith-koi, he is flawless at everything he does!" Keith's girlfriend swooned from the audience while the rest of the gang just stood there with their arms crossed and a proud grin on their face.

"No, I don't have 1000 dollars to spare. Come on, do something! Do something, Yuma Tsukumo's son!" One of the spectator whined, and was followed by several other cries of despair by people who wagered on Yuuji's victory.

Some even tossed their duel gazer's down on the ground in an act of denial as they don't want to see their chance of winning 1000 dollars to be blown away. Yuuji winced as the duel gazer clattered and broke from the contact with the concrete floor, as the last time he checked, the duel gazers are a rather expensive piece of equipment.

Keith sent Yuuji a glance, expecting to see a face marred with panic and worry, however all he got was the sight of Yuuji yawning.

"Why do you seem so relaxed. You do realize that your life is on the line in this duel. Unless you are really sleep deprived. Well, no worries, you will have all the time to sleep once you are dead!" Keith barked, before laughing and bragging about how funny and witty he is to his gang.

"I am sorry that I made you waste your breath talking about how my defeat is inevitable. I mean you even took the time to set up two very plausible scenarios, but none of the two will happen. For I activate the trap card: Battle Break." Now the entire bar fell silent once again, no one complaining, no one cheering, everyone just awaits to listen to how Yuuji will find his way out of his current predicament. And explaining is what Yuuji is going to do.

"How Battle Break work is: when an opponent's monster declares an attack. I can destroy the attacking monster and end the battle phase. Unless… my opponent reveal 1 monster in their hand to negate this card's effect." Yuuji's eyes then darted to the only remaining card in Keith's hand.

"So, what do you say Keith? Is that card in your hand a monster card or something else…"

All eyes are on Keith now, but Keith doesn't seem to crumble under everyone's gaze, instead the confident smirk is still plastered on his face. Something that Yuuji took as a bad sign.

"Looks like you have ran out of luck, Yuuji-boy." Keith flipped his remaining duel monster card, and revealed it to be Quickdraw Synchron (LV 5 ATK: 700 DEF:1400).

Several groans and moans could be heard from the spectators that wagered on Yuuji's victory while others threatened to mutilate Yuuji's body for causing them to lose their bet.

"Looks like the goddess of victory is smiling at me and me only. After all, I don't blame her. Who can resist smiling at a face as handsome as mine?"

"I don't know? Someone that doesn't need to get glasses or LASIK surgery?" Yuuji shrugged his shoulders oh-so-innocently.

"Why you little… You won't be talking much when I'm done with you. Goyo Guardian, continue your attack!" Goyo Guardian flung his ropes forward, as Armory Arm extended its ridiculously thin fingers and prepared to jab Melomelody in the heart with it. However much to the disbelief of Keith and everyone else in the room except Yuuji, all three monsters shattered into unmendable fragments of light particles.

"W-W-what gives?" Keith stumbled backwards looking like he just jizzed his pants, unable to comprehend how there could be anything wrong with his plan.

"I told you that your silly little plan will not work. And this card is the reason!" Yuuji jabbed a finger towards the purple bordered card that's levitating next to him and allow Keith to figure things out himself.

"M-m-mirror Mail? When did you set such a card?" Then Keith remembered that Yuuji setted two cards face-down on his previous turn, one of them being "Battle Break!" and the other one was just revealed to be "Mirror Mail".

_Mirror Mail. How it work is: when a face-up monster you control is target for an attack, its attack becomes equal to that of the attacking monster. Meaning Melomelody's attack rose to 3800 as well… Darn you Yuuji. Wait… don't tell me he activated "Battle Break!" just to scout out the remaining card in my hand to see if I have anything that he needs to watch out for. Now that he have seen my remaining card, there is not even a slight chance that I can bluff my way out of this. Darn you Yuuji. You got me. It doesn't matter if I have a monster card in my hand or not, either way it is a win-win situation for you._Keith's urge to strangle the teen in front of him grew by each passing seconds as his brain began to catch on to Yuuji's plan.

"That kid just survived by sheer luck alone!"

"Keith will finish him soon enough."

"I wish that kid will just give up already, this is an obvious waste of time."

"And a waste of money . I thought Yuma Tsukumo's son would be able to do better than this."

"Yeah, you saw the way Keith-sama used his card's in the utmost ease. No wonder he was popular in the National Dueling Circuit."

"That loser Tsukumo on the other hand can only live off of his father's fame. Looks like the kid just ain't got dueling blood pumping in his vines."

"What is a person without experience or talent and probably got everything handed to him on a silver platter? Garbage!"

Keith looked around, shocked that the audience have not yet caught on to what just happened, but decided to play it cool and continue to lead the audience to believe that he still have everything under control.

"That kid just got lucky. I will finish him on the 6th term nonetheless." Keith announced as the crowd rejoiced, with the exception of the few that wagered on Yuuji's victory.

_Even though I am saying that, I did not expect my plan to fail. Since I have not yet constructed a Plan B…_ Keith solemnly noted to himself before calling it a turn.

-Turn 5-

Keith: 7000 Yuuji: 5700

Yuuji wiped away the sweat forming on his forehead as he reassured himself that he is still in this duel and how he should be grateful that he managed to survive the previous turn with no major damage. Taking the opportunity for some old-fashioned trash talk, Yuuji opened his mouth to speak.

"Mr. Shades, you claim that you will still be able to finish me by the sixth turn. But how exactly do you plan on doing that. Your only card in your hand is Quickdraw Synchron that can't be summoned without a tribute since it is a level 5 monster. Not to mention it only have 700 attack points, and I happen to already have a monster card that can triumph over Quickdraw Synchron in a direct confrontation. Even if you manage to summon a monster that surpass my monster's attack point, I will still suffer no more than 1000 points of damage in the worst case scenario."

"Don't act like a smartass now. For in a little while later, your smarts will extinguish just like your life and all you will be is an ass." Keith barked.

"For now I will just set a monster down in defense mode, and end my turn."

-Turn 6-

_If that loser really do have a monster that can surpass the attack of Quickdraw Synchron, why hasn't he summoned it yet. Unless, it is a bluff or maybe the face-down monster is going to be used for tribute for the strong monster that he mentioned. _Keith wondered, as he drew a card from his deck. _Tsk. Another Quickdraw Synchron. But, I don't need to panic, even if he summon a monster, I can always activate my face-down card: Bottomless Trap Hole._

'I end my turn."

-Turn 7-

Yuuji drew a card from his deck and grinned as he realized that his bluff is not as much of a bluff anymore, as he genuinely just drawn one of the strongest monster in his deck. "I tribute my face-down monster cards to summon Dododo Warrior (LV 6 ATK: 2300 DEF: 900)". Yuuji's face-down monster vanished in a flash of light and was replaced by a rather intimidating monster that wields an ax on one hand and a circular shield on the other. The monster is clad in a red and black armor, leaving no body parts exposed, and from what Keith can observe, the two horn that protrude from both side of its helmets are not just there to serve as a decoration.

"Dododo Buster attack Keith's life points directly!" Keith couldn't tell whether or not he was imagining it or not. but he could have sworn Dododo Warrior's eyes flashed bright red under the dim lighting of the BARian bar. The axe wielding warrior let out a dignified battle cry and proceed to charge toward Keith, but how quick the transformation of the dignified battle cry to a cry of pure horror occurred is what shocked everyone in the room, as a hole opened up below Dododo Warrior and swallowed the warrior whole while the warrior desperately attempt to find something to grip on to, but his efforts are ultimately futile.

_What happened?! _Yuuji's eyes frantically darted around the room hoping to find something that will bring himself out of the dark. Then his eyes rested on the purple bordered card that's standing next to Keith and all of his confusions fades away. _Bottomless Trap Hole?! I shouldn't have let my guard down that easily. I thought that his face-down card was just a bluff, seeing that he didn't activate it when I summoned Melomelody. But boy… was I wrong, it is not because that card is useless, it but because the requirements were simply just not fulfilled. He got me… Just a few seconds ago I thought I have the upper hand in this duel. _

_Aha, just like I thought, there is no way this amateur could have seen through the identity of my face-down card. He just got lucky that his Melomelody's original attack points just happen to be 100 points short from triggering my trap card : Bottomless Trap Hole! Looks like you just ran out of luck, you amateur. _"I activated trap card: Bottomless Trap Hole. When my opponent summons a monster with 1500 or more attack, I can destroy that monster and if I do, I get to banish it instead of sending it to the graveyard." Surely enough the trap hole that swallowed up Dododo Warrior starts to close up and decrease in diameter before vanishing altogether, and the holographic image of the purple bordered duel monster card disappeared not long after.

_Don't panic Yuuji. You still have things under control. The monster you tributed to summon Dododo Warrior is Bacon Saver. You can always activate Bacon Saver's effect to survive at least one of Keith's battle phase... _Yuuji calmed himself down as he looked on the positive side of the situation, and persuade himself to call it a turn.

"I end my turn."

-Turn 8-

Keith: 7000 Yuuji: 5700

Keith roughly ripped the top card of his deck out of the grip of the duel disk's deck holster, before shooting the card a side glance.

_The spell card "Mystical Space Typhoon". Tsk. It will not do me any good right now!_ Keith bitterly noted before allowing the spell card he just drew to join the 2 "Quickdraw Synchron" card that's being held by his left hand. Setting the Mystical Space Typhoon that he just drawn face-down, Keith ended his turn, hoping that the face-down card would scare Yuuji into not attacking.

-Turn 9-

Taking this as a good opportunity as any to play some mind games of his own, Keith spoke up.

"Yuuji, you might know that the one of the card in my hand is Quickdraw Synchron'' But you don't know what card I just set on the field.

"What are you getting at?"

"I am saying that the card face-down right now could very well be a card with a effect. So I advise you to think twice before attacking."

"Cards with devastating effects? As in what kind of card?"

"Hmm. Mirror Force? Trust me Yuuji, I do have such cards in my deck. In fact I have multiple copies of them in my deck. In fact I can prove to you right now if you allow me to pull them out from my deck. Of course I will even allow you to shuffle my deck later on to make sure that no shenanigans is going on."

"No thanks." Yuuji 'politely' turned down Keith's offer before conducting his draw phase.

'_Double or Nothing!' Tsk. It won't do me any good right now. _Yuuji fidgeted with the cards in his hands before reaching for Bacon Saver and promptly set the monster in face-down defense position.

"I end my turn."

-Turn 10-

Yuuji observed Keith's action with a critical eye as Keith drew a card from his deck. _If what Keith said was true and the facedown card is really Mirror Force, then I should be more careful when it comes to attacking. I let my guard down once when I thought Keith's Bottomless Trap Hole was a bluff, and I shouldn't do it again._

_Seven Tools of the Bandit?! Again, it is not a card that will help me in the current situation. I need to get my hand on a monster that I can summon and quick!_ Keith took in a big breath before declaring the end of his turn.

-Turn 11-

Yuuji's gaze remained fixated on the face-down card on Keith's side of the field before conducting his own draw phase.

_Gagaga Bolt? Come on Yuuji, you can do so much better than this. _Yuuji sighed before also declaring the end of his turn.

-Turn 12-

Although neither duelist care to swallow their pride and admit that none of them have any useful cards in their hands and are in a stalemate, this still does not change the fact that they are indeed in a stalemate. Still, Yuuji can't help but pray for god's mercy whenever Keith conduct his draw phrase, and so far his prayers are working… until now.

Keith's eyes widened with glee as he sent a glance to the card he now held on his hand. _Call of the Haunted! Perfect! I have to set this card first before I can activate it, but it looks like my victory is secured, Yuuji._

"I set a card face-down and end my turn. "

_Another one! Just what is the man up to?_ Yuuji's face contorted in disgust and confusion as he witnessed yet another holographic projection of a face-down duel monster card on his opponent's side of the field.

-Turn 13-

"Draw!"

_Gagaga Magician?! It is better to save this card for a XYZ summon, rather than to use it to set up a defense. After all, I still have things under control. Bacon Saver is still in my graveyard, even if Keith comes attacking with his monster, I can always remove Bacon Saver from my graveyard to negate the effect._ Yuuji refrained himself from wasting the only monster card in his hand at the moment and opt to proceed with declaring the end of his turn.

"I end my turn!"

-Turn 14-

At first Yuuji heard stifled giggles escape Keith's lips, before the noise escalated into a full out sinister laughter, effectively sending an ominous chill down Yuuji's spine.

"What is so funny?

"'What's so funny?' You asked? Well, why don't you see for yourself. I activate the trap card: Call of the Haunted!" Keith hollered in glee as he pressed down on the spell/trap card activation button on his duel disk. In a second's delay, the face-down card Keith just set on his previous turned flipped face-up and took a vertical position in one swift motion, revealing an artwork depicting a cemetery along with the wisp of purple smoke that radiates off the tombstones.

"What this card does is that it allowed me to target 1 monster in my graveyard, and I can special summon that target in face-up attack position. However in exchange, this card have to stay face-up on the field for the revived monster to stay on the field. And the monster I choose to revive is my Goyo Guardian(LV 6 ATK: 2800 DEF: 2000)."' A familiar facepaint donning, robe wearing, lasso yielding, creature surfaced on Keith's side of the field. And Yuuji doesn't want to be mean in any sort of way, but he believe that he would be much better off not seeing Goyo Guardian's face ever again.

"Too bad no one will be resurrecting you after I am done mutilating your body, Yuuji! Goyo Guardian, attack Yuuji directly!" The monster hoist the lasso up in the air, before hurling it towards Yuuji's direction. Yuuji's eyes widened as the pain-inducing object flew closer and closer towards his body, as he shut the both of his eyes to brace himself for the impact and the pain that will inevitably come with Goyo Guardian's attack.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Yuuji's anguished scream was like music to Keith's ears as a grin crept itself on his face, however Keith's smile was removed just as quickly as it appeared.

"W-What, your life point did not decrease by a single p-point." Keith stuttered and once again stumbles backward, pointing an accusing finger towards the holographic life point gauge on Yuuji's side of the field. Indeed, as Keith has pointed out, Yuuji's life point remained as 5700 and is completely untouched.

"Y-you m-must have cheated. This shouldn't be possible! You don't have any cards face-down, and you didn't summon any monster on your previous turn. How is this possible? How?!"

Yuuji however replied with yet another yawn, before holding up the "Bacon Saver" monster card.

"W-w-when did you get **that** monster in the graveyard, I didn't remember you activate any card effect that will allow you to send cards to your graveyard and it certainly did not serve as Melomelody's XYZ material since it is only level 2. And the only time you tribute summoned…" Keith paused his rambling at that one point as his eyes widened in realization.

"Wait I don't get it? Why is that stupid pig so troublesome to my dear Keith?" Keith's girlfriend cried from the background.

"Bacon Saver's effect is that during either player's battle step, while an attack is occurring, this card can banished from the graveyard to negate the attack." One of Keith's goon supplied the answer, oh-so-helpfully.

"A-any ways, it is your turn now twerp. Do whatever you want!?" Keith huffed, averting his gaze in shame and disappointment as Yuuji proceed with his own draw phase.

-Turn 15-

_Goblindbergh?! _Yuuji stared long and hard at the card he just drew, before redirecting his gaze at the card's in his hand. As much as Yuuji wanted to set Goblindbergh in defense position to shield his life point for the inevitable onslaught that Goyo Guardian will give him on Keith's following turn, something in Yuuji's mind tells him not to, and Yuuji happens to be the type that rather listen to his intuition more than anything else. Praying that he wouldn't regret his choice, Yuuji chose to end his turn.

_As long as he only have Goyo Guardian on his side of the field, everything should be fine. _Yuuji reassured himself and observed Keith as Keith initiate his own turn.

-Turn 16-

"Ha. I summon a third Junk Synchron (LV 3 ATK: 1300 DEF: 500) from my hand." A scarfed orange robot wearing a long hat once again made its way in front of Yuuji's field of vision, sounding as cheery as ever.

"Unfortunately, I can't synchro summon this turn due to the lack of synchro materials. However this should be good enough to inflict a hefty punishment on you for pulling those cheap tricks throughout the duel! You have already used up Bacon Saver's effect, meaning that there is no stupid cards to protect you this time!" Keith's grin once again found its way back on his face, as he commanded both of his monster to attack. Goyo Guardian hastily hurled his lasso towards Yuuji's direction, the metallic pitch fork-like object attached to one end of the lasso soared through the air in effortless grace as a grin of satisfaction crept upon Goyo Guardian's own face when the metallic object rammed mercilessly onto Yuuji's bones.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" An anguished scream once again left Yuuji's lip, this time it was not to lure Keith into a sense of accomplishment, as genuine pain overwhelmed Yuuji's sense when the metallic fork-like object bounced off the bones of Yuuji's left arm. The young teen rolled onto the floor, the mind numbing pain from what Yuuji assumed to be a broken arm continues to haunt him mercilessly, causing the young adult to be completely unaware of the incoming fist of the orange robot that has waltzed around the battlefield and made the young adult's life a living hell since the beginning of the duel. Without even a moment of hesitance, the orange robot jabbed its metallic fist onto Yuuji's lower jaw, inducing enough pain to cause tears to form around the young adult's ruby eyes that once reflected fierce determination.

Keith: 7000 Yuuji: 1600

"Awwwww. Lil' Yuuji is crying from getting hit by holograms!" Keith mocked, his voice full of fake concerns and sympathies.

"I want my mama!" Another spectator joined in on the ribbing, taking on a high-pitched voice that-in Yuuji's opinion- sounds nothing like his own.

At this point, those who wagered in Yuuji's victory practically gave up on hurling complaints as they have come to terms with the fact that they will have to return home with an empty wallet. and insteads joins in on the insults.

It was as fear itself had branded Yuuji as its own property, as the young adult found himself unable to even lift a finger from the immense pain that suddenly invaded his body. Regret. That's what Yuuji is feeling right now, as his body laid on the cold floor of BARian bar. His eyes darting towards the exit of the BARian bar, somewhat hopeful that he would be able to make a run for it. That dishonorable idea however was quickly dismissed by Yuuji himself, not because his pride as a duelist prevents him from running away from a duel, but because Yuuji found himself too weak to even stand. He could always crawl towards the exit, but how far would he be able to advance with only one usable arm? The answer to that questions is: not very far. Not to mention, he is sure that even if he did manage to crawl out of BARian bar, Keith's goons will mercilessly drag him back to face his execution. After all, the agreement that they had prior to the duel was that Yuuji will allow Keith to kill him, shall Keith defeat him in a duel. And now Yuuji want nothing more than to overturn time to prevent himself from agreeing to those terms.

"Who the hell did that boy think he is? Messing with our Keith-sama." Yet another insult was hurled in Yuuji's direction, and the young adult found himself unable to respond once again.

_Indeed,_ the young boy thought to himself,_ Who the hell did I think I was? Carelessly brandishing around my brand of justice and get in trouble for it. Who the hell did I think I was? Relying on my intuition in a circumstance as dire as this and expect no devastating consequences to come with it?_

It was at that moment, Yuuji reached an epiphany. An epiphany that was a bit too much for his mind to handle. The realization that he is just as helpless and useless as the people that he looked down upon, that he is wrapped up in his own sense of superiority to realize that he is just the same as everyone else. The realization that like the police, he too, was unable to catch the culprit responsible for his father's untimely death. The realization that he is just as bad as everyone else, no, the realization that he is worse than the people around him for believing himself to be a superior being.

_...If everyone is useless…..._

_ than I am trash..._

* * *

A/N: So yeah. Another chapter to this story. Sorry if the duel is rather long and boring, but the good news is that there will only be one or two turns left. I apologize for any grammatical errors or spelling errors. Please review and have a nice day. The next chapter should be up soon.


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